Ahead of the official launch of the UK Packaging Pact in April 2026, WRAP has announced the names of the 55 founding organisations who have signed up.
The UK Packaging Pact, the successor to the UK Plastics Pact, is a new voluntary agreement that widens the original scope to all materials commonly used in packaging.
A wider range of sectors are also involved in the new programme, which is supported by PackUK, the UK Government, and led by global environmental action NGO WRAP.
Now organisations producing products from food and drink, beauty care, pet products and household goods can join the Pact which commits them to:
- Optimise packaging;
- Scale reuse and refill;
- Support circular infrastructure investment, and;
- Harmonise data – to improve traceability for more impactful decision making.
WRAP says the UK Packaging Pact will transform how packaging is designed, used, and recovered to reduce waste and emissions, protect nature, and put citizens needs at the heart of packaging decisions.
Commenting on the launch, Catherine David, CEO, WRAP, said: “Collaboration works and it’s delivering real change. Unrecyclable black plastic is gone, recycling is rising, and unnecessary packaging is disappearing. But the scale of the challenge demands more.”
“We must accelerate the step change to circular living, driving reuse, tackling plastic film, and enabling the impact of upcoming recycling reforms. This is collective action at its most ambitious and essential, and WRAP is proud to lead the charge toward a truly circular future.”
Ahead of its 2026 launch, fifty-five founding members have signed up including retailers ASDA, Arla, Lidl, Ocado Retail, Tesco, and Yeo Valley. Major waste management companies Biffa, SUEZ Recycling Recovery UK Ltd and Veolia have also signed the Pact, as well as the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM).
WRAP says the UK Packaging Pact will serve as a ‘test-bed’ and feedback mechanism for future regulation as Extended Producer Responsibility for packaging (EPR), Simpler Recycling, and Deposit Return Schemes (DRS) move into implementation.
Mary Creagh, Circular Economy Minister, commented: “Government and businesses must ensure packaging is used time and time again. Our new EPR scheme will turbocharge this shift to more sustainable packaging.”
“I pay tribute to the 55 world-leading companies who have signed up to the UK Packaging Pact and pledged to go further and faster in delivering greener packaging.”